


To Love is to Live

by Thecriminalmindss



Series: To Love is to Live [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Family, Family Secrets, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Murder, Pregnancy, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-07 06:05:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15212828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thecriminalmindss/pseuds/Thecriminalmindss
Summary: Erin Edwards a young, new agent in the FBI meets David Rossi, an SSA agent, 4 years her senior. Even with a rocky start to their relationship, they quickly find themselves falling for each other. As their lives further entangle, Erin learns more about her past and why her father moved her and her six sisters to the states after their mother died. Joining the FBI changed Erin's life in the way she least expected, but will it be for the better?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I do no own any other characters in this story, apart from one, they each belong to their own fandoms. You may recognise other characters as references to other fandoms and/or other famous people.  
> This is my first story ever written, I hope you enjoy and please comment what you think of it :)
> 
>  
> 
> Erin Edwards - 22 (12-12-1963)  
> David Rossi - 25 (2-1-1961)  
> Thomas Edwards - 50 (27-6-1935)  
> Betty Edwards - 28 (30-10-1956)  
> Hillary Richards (nee Edwards) - 27 (26-8-1958)  
> Bill Richards - 27 (17-5-1958)  
> Meryl Jones (nee Edwards) - 26 (14-7-1959)  
> Alan Jones - 27 (25-4-1959)  
> Elsie Baker (nee Edwards) - 25 (24-9-1960)  
> Charlie Baker - 29 (5-1-1957)  
> Diana Sylvester (nee Edwards) -24 (22-1-1962)  
> William Sylvester - 20 (18-2-1965)  
> Elizabeth Edwards - 23 (9-11-1962)  
> Robert Ford - 27 (3-8-1958)  
> Alex Rossi - 23 (4-9-1962)  
> James Blake - 23 (7-10-1962)  
> Kate Rossi - 24 (11-6-1961)  
> Nicky Rossi - 6 (6-3-1979)

_The evening chorus of bluebirds echoed from each corner of the enclosed meadow; their chirps coming in individual bursts of song, joined in harmony by the chickadee and the cooing of a dove. The sky blended its fading blue canvas with streaks of burnt-orange, molten-gold, and dusky-pink; a stark contrast to the deep pine-green of the trees, making it appear as if the sky were gently burning._

_The grass appeared brownish under the fire-light, a deception of its natural shamrock green; standing just under a foot in height, littered with various sweet smelling flowers. The sweet smells, mingled with that of zesty wild garlic elicited a tiny sneeze followed by a giggle, drawing the attention of  the attractive younger couple stood in the field, away from the sky and down towards the infant standing in the long grass._

_Their resulting laughter echoed that of their one-year-old daughter's, who resembled her mother in every way, from her ash-blonde hair, striking blue eyes to her delicate little nose and rosebud lips. Their laughter only continued when a delighted squeal erupted from the toddler as one of her many older siblings grabbed her from behind and swung her round whilst tickling her sides._

  _"Come on darlings; we're leaving now!" called the gentile voice of the woman, summoning her many children back to their parents._

_The infant was handed back to her, and as she looked up into the smiling face of her mother, she rewarded her with a bright, toothy grin. The young woman smiled lovingly down at her and whispered softly:_

  _"Don't let the world kill your precious little smile, sweetheart, no matter how hard they try, promise me they won't kill your beautiful smile."_

_But whether the young woman's words were registered or not, she was unsure as the baby just smiled and continued to play with a lock of her mothers curls. The mother turned and watched as her other children laughed as their father lifted them into the back of the Chevy where they had installed two rows of seats along the sides. The baby layed her head down on her mothers chest as she began to hum and inhaled her sweet scent before closing her eyes._


	2. Chapter 1

It was a crisp spring morning; a layer of frost had settled itself over the grass as a young woman with tanned skin, curly ash-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, strode purposely along the path next to it. She was dressed in a starched white shirt and black suit trousers, equipped with black heeled boots to match, and her ID that was clipped to the edge of her trousers, near her hip. She was quite beautiful; voluptuous curves of her hips and breasts, full lips, expressive eyes that twinkled every time she smiled; anyone could see that she was drop-dead gorgeous. She clearly kept herself in shape, one could see the evidence of that in her toned stomach and limbs, but that was a necessity due to her future career that rested in the very place she was headed towards.

The FBI building loomed before her. Not word she'd ever used to describe it before during her years of training at the academy, but it sure as hell loomed over her now. The brown stone cast an almost intimidating figure in the early morning sun, eliciting a shiver from the young woman; whether that was from nerves or the early morning chill, she honestly had no idea. Then again, she had reason to be nervous, this place held new possibilities for her now; Cadet Erin Edwards was about to become an Agent, and she was fucking terrified.

At the risk of sounding too cliché, this was the moment she had waited for and wanted her whole life and she prayed to whatever deity that heard her, that she wouldn't cock it up.

She passed through security fairly quickly, being quite familiar with its process, and soon she was riding on the elevator, up towards the heart of the bureau. Stepping off the elevator, she suddenly felt at a loss. These were the people with the reputation, they caught serial killers, for Christ's sake! It was at this point that her eldest sister's words came all but screaming back to her, which was ironically enough, the exact same fashion they had been delivered to her in this morning.

_"Oh just snap out of it, girl!" Betty had practically screeched at her in an extremely high and shrill voice. "You've trained for this, hell you're the best shot in that entire academy! Just walk in that building and do the job you were bloody meant to do! And quit the I'm-feeling-sorry-for-myself act; self-pity was never a good colour on you."_

_"Oh so if I get chewed out for royally fucking up, I can just shoot them can I?" Erin snapped back._

_"Oh for Christ's sake...."_

_"Rin, you know that's not what she means" sighed Erin's sixth oldest sister (the second youngest), Elizabeth. "We know you're nervous, but tearing yourself apart isn't going to achieve anything."_

_"I know, I know" sighed Erin, "I, I'm just scared of messing it up, I want this so badly!"_

_"You won't" Betty soothed with a reassuring kiss to her temple. "You know, if Mama were hear she'd tear you a new one for thinking you're not good enough. That, and your sailors language." she said with a slight smack to the back of Erin's head._

_"And you for blaspheming" muttered Elizabeth._

_Betty narrowed her eyes. "And just whose side are you on?"_

_"Not yours if you continue to use the Lords name in vain."_

_"You're not even bloody religious! You're just arguing with me because you enjoy it!"_

_Erin just smiled as she continued to listen to her sisters bicker back and forth._

And after several exchanges of kisses, hugs and well-wishes from her 6 sisters, their various partners, and her father, this is where she now found herself: standing in the bullpen of the FBI, trying to morph her deer-in-the-headlight expression into something resembling a calmer emotion.

"Erin Edwards?"

Erin's head shot up as the deep voice resounded across the bullpen. The voice itself was imposing, commanding even; yet it held a sort of gentleness to it, quite soothing; the latter description perhaps more suited to the figure from whence it came. He was dressed in light blue jeans with a dark grey sweater, and Erin could just make out a white t-shirt underneath through the sweater's v-neckline. He looked to be in his 40s, roughly. His dark hair was thinning with tints of grey and he had deep lines present around his gentle blue eyes and brow, while a soft smile played upon his lips.

Erin relaxed a little and found herself smiling slightly in return.

"Yes, Sir?"

The older agent chuckled, he had seen many nervous fresh-faced agents walk through his door, and their frightened-animal imitations never failed to amuse him somewhat.

"Come up to my office, I'll introduce myself and you can meet the other new recruit that will be starting with you."

Erin started to walk towards the stairs leading up to his office, all the while feeling several pairs of eyes trained upon her every movement, several of them resting lower than they should've been, though she fought not to pay it any mind and falter in her step. As she walked past the desk of four closest to the stairs, with only two of the seats occupied, she heard a low whistle of appreciation followed by a not so subtle "damn". She whipped her head around to glare at whomever blatantly cat-called her, and found herself eye to eye with a young man grinning lecherously at her. He had bronze skin, light brown hair and hazel eyes; his build was quite muscular, well-defined by his light blue skirt and brown slacks that complemented his tanned skin and only seemed to make it glow golden, along with whitening his smile. He was attractive by all accounts but there was something about his demeanour, and the way he winked at Erin, seemingly not put-off by her glare, that highlighted his obviously cocky I'm-a-gift-from-god attitude; a trait that did not appeal to Erin in the slightest.

Erin rolled her eyes and proceeded to walk up the stairs to the seasoned agent, who had now been joined by an slightly older, greying man in a suit. They were both glaring daggers at the male agent and shaking their heads slightly. Their gazes softened when Erin reached them, and the first agent stuck out his hand for her to shake, which she did so with a firm grip.

"Agent Edwards, I'm SSA Jason Gideon, I'm the Unit Chief of the Alpha team. And this" he gestured towards the older man who also held out his hand, "is Director Andrew Shepard."

The Director smiled encouragingly, "pleased to meet you, Erin. Heard all good things about you of course. Top of the academy, best arm in the building to date."

Erin blushed slightly under his compliments. "Thank you, Sir. It's an honour to be here."

The Director chuckled in response, "I can tell we'll get along just fine. Now if you'll excuse me I have a meeting that I unfortunately cannot get out of, though that's not to say that I haven't tried." All three laughed a little at his words. "I'll see if I can track down SSA Rossi for you Gideon. I'm sure a new member of the team to meet is surely a good enough reason to be present in the office."

"I'd appreciate that Andy"

And with a mocking salute, the Director was on his way out of the bullpen. Gideon then turned to Erin who was looking slightly bemused.

"Yeah" he said, "the Director of the FBI isn't as bad as they make him out to be in the academy. Now, would you like to meet the other newbie?"

Erin nodded, not quite trusting her voice just yet. As she walked into the office closest to the stairs she noticed another young woman sat on the couch, looking almost as nervous as she felt. She had medium brown hair that tumbled to her shoulders in soft waves, olive toned skin and deep brown eyes. She smiled slightly at Erin as she walked in the room and stood up to greet her.

"Agent Erin Edwards, I'd like you to meet Agent Alex Rossi."

"Rossi?" Erin questioned with one eyebrow raised as she shook the other woman's hand. "Is this who the Director went looking for?"

Alex laughed, "No, that would probably be my older brother, David. He's the other senior agent of Alpha who is conveniently never where he is supposed to be."

"Oh" Erin blushed, "Sorry, I just thought...."

"No, no, no" Alex gushed, "It's an easy enough mistake to make, but things should get a little easier when I get married and have my name changed to Blake."

Erin smiled. "Congratulations, how long have you been engaged for?"

Alex shook her head, "Well, we're not officially engaged yet, but we've both talked about it and its what we both want, so."

The two chatted a little while longer and Erin could feel herself starting to like the other young woman as she learnt more about her, the feeling mutual on both parts. A clearing of a throat behind Erin drew her attention away from her new friend and towards the doorway. She inhaled sharply through her nose as the figure stood in the doorway made his way into the light of the room.

"Ah Erin", Alex began. "Meet my big brother, the great one and only, David Rossi."

Erin felt as if the air had been forced out of her lungs as she stared into the rich chocolate eyes of perhaps the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, who was staring at her in much the same way.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 2

David gulped inaudibly as he slowly stepped into the room. When the Director had told him to come down and meet the other recruit, he hadn’t expected this. She was achingly beautiful; a goddess in her true form. Taking slow measured steps, he tried to appear nonchalant, though the look on Gideon's face told him he knew otherwise, and his sister was grinning like the cat who got the cream. ' _Shit'_ he thought, he was so going to hear about this later. But he'd deal with that much later on, for now, his attention was focused solely on the vision sat on Gideon's couch, and my god was he intrigued to say the least.

 Erin stood as he walked towards her, her eyes were literally drawing him in, he couldn’t seem to pull away. That is until his leg collided with the coffee table in front of the couch and he pitched forward, practically landing on top of Erin. He could hear stifled laughter coming from the other side of the room and looked over to see Jason’s shoulders shaking and Alex’s hand firmly clamped over her mouth while her body jerked with random spasms and tears fell from her eyes.

Blushing bright red, he looked over to the woman he had landed on, who was smiling gently at him.

 “Are you alright?” asked Erin.

 “Yeah” David laughed nervously, his eyes trained on the floor, “just, er, need to watch my step”

 They both blushed when they heard Alex's muffled laughter finally break free into a full blown roar, causing her to clutch her stomach as she practically keeled over. David shot his sister a murderous look before softening his gaze to turn to Erin, who looked mortified at the situation.

 "I'll, um, be in my office. Nice to meet you Agent Edwards." And with that parting shot he was gone.

 Erin turned around slowly, still hearing Alex guffawing on the coach, except Jason had managed to get enough of a hold of himself to school his features into a mask of neutrality, with a slight hint of a smirk. If it was possible, which somehow it was, she blushed an even deeper shade of red, letting her eyes slide down to the floor.

 "Well kid, I might have to keep you around. There are many who can make the great David Rossi speechless."

 Erin pursed her lips as she looked up to glare at Jason as best she could. All it provoked was a chuckle.

 "I'm messing with you, smile it's good for you kid. You two wait here while Alex gets herself together, then come out and meet the rest of the team."

 As Jason walked out, Erin slowly walked to the coach and sat down next to Alex who was now inhaling deeply through her nose.

 "So, how do you think the team will take to us?" Erin asked nervously, desperate to draw the attention away from what had just happened.

 Alex snorted, "they'll be fine, its you and my brother I'm worried about. And don't give me that look either" she said as Erin rolled her eyes, "friends have automatic license to take the shit out of each other so don't think for one second that I will not abused that privilege with you."

 Erin smiled.

 "But Rin, can I call you Rin?" Erin nodded, "okay, Rin, just be careful around David, yeah? His marriage didn't end all that well, partly due to the way he acted, and I mean I love him and all but I will concede that he can be a royal asshole. You seem really nice and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Erin spluttered indignantly.

 "I know he is extremely good looking, and my god would you two have the most gorgeous children. But you need to see if he really is serious about you first" 

 Erin's mouth dropped open as she let out a strangled gasp at Alex's words.  

 "Alex! I've literally just met him! I just acknowledged he was handsome, but that doesn't mean I'm looking to fall head over heels in love with him!" Erin snapped, she didn't mean to snap but she got extremely defensive when people hit too close to the mark, and boy, Alex's words practically hit a bullseye. Was she attracted to David Rossi? Sure. Did she think there could be something there? Of course. Did she want him to feel the same way? Hell yeah. But that was so unlikely to happen. He would have his pick of all the women out there, why would he notice her? Maybe she shouldn't waste her time on someone who would never notice her and spend her thoughts on someone would did.

 Alex held up her hands in mock surrender as smirked as if she really knew the truth.

"Come on, let's not keep Gideon waiting. You can fantasize about my brother later."

And with that she flounced out of the room, leaving a startled Erin behind wondering what in God's name just happened.

 "Well fuck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise it's shit but please bare with me.


	4. Chapter 3

Let it be said that Erin Edwards was never one to take advice from anyone. A stubborn habit that could be traced all the way back to her childhood when her father insisted on her riding a bike with stabilisers before taking them off. Of course being as hard-headed as she is, she found a way to take them off herself, and put quite simply, the picture did not have a pretty ending. For anyone else, that would've been at least a starting point for logical thought and an ability to follow orders. But not Erin. In fact, her stubbornness had increased tenfold since that moment, much to the chagrin of her older sisters and her father.

So when Gideon had insisted she partner with Rossi for field work, well, it had been a recipe for disaster. Both being as equally stubborn as the other, they clashed every minute of every day they were together, over everything. Just that morning, it had been over something as stupid as coffee.

"Jesus Edwards, what is that?!"

Erin rolled her eyes, "well good morning to you too, Rossi."

David ignored, "it smells disgusting."

"For your information it's coffee."

"That is not coffee."

"Yes it is."

"It's not even worthy of the name. Drinking gas station coffee should be made illegal in at least 30 states. Oh who was I kidding? You're probably too tense from that stick up your ass to enjoy the finer things in life."

"I'm not in the mood Rossi" snapped Erin, "I'm already late enough as it is."

"Why? Did your broomstick malfunction?"

"Listen here you Italian rat bastard....."

It was safe to say that whatever feelings of attraction they'd had for each other had long disappeared, or at least in their minds it had. She loathed him and his lothario ways, clearly illustrating that he viewed women as sexual conquests rather than romantic pursuits. His ego was the size of Mexico and he insisted on calling her nicknames like 'little girl' and 'kitten' which made her feel about two inches tall. She already felt out of place in the environment that her sister Diana had deemed a 'sausage fest' and she didn't need David Rossi picking up on those insecurities to get a rise out of her, which was clearly an activity that fell under the title of 'his favourite pastimes'. He'd picked up on her naturally uptight nature and teased her mercilessly about it, making her even stiffer than she already was. Not that she never took a dig at him, in fact she revelled in it, she never missed an opportunity to make him feel as frustrated as she was. But there was still an underlying level of sadness that she would never admit to anyone, not even Alex (with whom she had grown impossibly close with). She felt lonely, she wanted somebody she could fall in love with, and with her first encounter with Rossi, she had allowed herself to feel hope. But now, it just proved to her that someone like Rossi could never fall for someone like her.

They were still bickering when they reached the bullpen full of the other agents who had become accustomed to tuning out their constant fighting. Alex had told Erin more than once that they could cut the sexual tension between the two of them with a knife, but Erin was often too wound up with him to even register Alex's words.

As the two parted ways, David continued up the steps to his office whilst Erin sank unceremoniously down into her chair. She sat on a desk with three other agents; Alex, Strauss, and an African-American agent called Joseph Morgan. She had already been introduced to Fran, his wife, who was also starting to become a close friend with her and Alex.

Erin let out a huge sigh which didn't go unnoticed by the other agents.

"You alright, Rin?" Joseph asked in a concerned tone.

"She's pissed off at Rossi again" laughed Strauss, "though I don't know why she bothers with him when we all know we'd be hot together". He gave her an exaggerated wink which made Erin roll her eyes, her labelled signature move.

"Fuck off Strauss" she groaned, throwing a balled up piece of paper at him and hitting him right between the eyes, causing Alex to smirk while Joey snorted into his coffee.

"Alright listen up Alpha" Gideon's voice boomed across the bullpen, and they all swivelled round in their chairs to look at him. He was stood leaning against the railing next to David, whom, Erin noticed had on particularly nice blue jeans which drew attention to his perfectly shaped ass.....

 _"Stop it, Erin!"_ She chastised herself, _"you hate him remember?"._ David turned to her and smirked, as if he could hear her internal dialogue and she quickly looked away and focused her attention on Jason.

"We've been grounded by the director for the next two months, so take this opportunity to catch up on paperwork, and sleep if you feel so inclined."

Everyone chuckled at his words and immediately the room's atmosphere seemed ten times lighter. Erin even almost smiled.

"Soooo" Strauss drawled, leaning back in his chair putting his arms behind his head, "What's everyone gonna do now they've actually got a 9 to 5?"

"You know you don't have to fill these silences" quipped Blake without even glancing up from her work, "in fact it might be much pleasant if you didn't."

Erin snorted as she continued to write.

"I might actually get the chance to ask this girl on a date" continued Strauss as if he hadn't even heard Alex, "you know if she weren't too stubborn to say yes, when we both know she wants to. Anyhoo I'm gonna get more coffee."

"Jackass" murmured Erin and Joey as Strauss strutted out of the room.

The whole day was pretty much spent in silence pouring over paperwork. Rossi and Gideon made no appearances out of the office until 7 o'clock rolled around.

"Jesus Christ, I've practically given you two months off and here you all are still working!" joked Jason, "get the fuck out of here!"

Several choruses of "night boss" and "see you tomorrow" reverberated around the office as Jason walked out.

Erin stood and stretched her back, groaning as she heard several clicks.

"You'll be in a nursing home before you're fifty at that rate. You literally have to reassemble yourself every time you stand up."

"Shut up, Joe" yawned Erin as she packed her briefcase, "go home to your wife."

"Don't have to tell me twice" and with a kiss to both Erin's and Alex's cheek, he was gone from the bullpen.

"I'll see you tomorrow chick" Alex said as she affectionately ruffled Erin's hair.

Erin smiled despite her hair being messed, "See ya love."

That just left Erin and Strauss, and of course Rossi, but Erin preferred not to count him.

With one last sigh Erin shouldered her bag and picked up her keys, "I'll see you later Jack" she said.

"Wait.. one minute Erin."

Erin stopped in her tracks and turned to face Jack, a questioning look on her face.

"Yeah?"

He gave her his most charming smile and said "I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner one night? I mean, we're grounded for two months and we have that length of time to do paperwork in the office. Plus, you can't have many prior engagements when we're on the road so much, so wha do ya say?"

Erin quirked an eyebrow disbelievingly. "You've really put too much thought into this Strauss. I mean really, that's extensive even with our line of work, should I be worried?"

Strauss' grin only widened, if that were possible, "No ma'am, just don't want to give such a gorgeous woman an excuse to get out of a date with me."

"I don't know..."  
"C'mon Erin. You really are incredible, I'm just asking for a chance here. Is Friday at 7 ok? I'll pick you up?"

Erin sighed as she glanced behind him; Rossi was speaking to a very young female agent and smiling a crooked flirty smile. Something sparked inside of Erin as she turned back to Jack with what she hoped was her most winning smile.

"You know what Jack, Friday would be great."

 

Let me know what you think, I appreciate any feedback :)


	5. Chapter 4

Friday soon rolled around far too quickly for Erin's liking, and as the hours wore on, her date with Strauss drew closer. The team had finished their paperwork and had decided to head to the shooting ground to blow off some steam. A storm was brewing in the distance, Alex had elbowed Erin and joked that it was an omen of her date with Strauss. Erin just rolled her eyes. Half an hour later, thunder was still heard to be rolling in the distance, but the team payed it no mind. Instead they decided to challenge each other in a contest of who could hit the most targets dead centre. Erin and Joey were currently in the lead on one team whilst Alex and Jack formed the other, lagging behind mainly because Strauss had failed to hit the majority of his targets. Actually, all of his targets. And he was getting pissed off.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Another round, another three misses. Erin and joey were sniggering quietly to themselves as Alex stared incredulously at Jack. 

"Seriously, Strauss? One target! That's all I'm asking for! One fucking target!"

"Back off Rossi", growled Strauss, his knuckles getting whiter and whiter as his grip tightened on his gun, his patience clearly waning.

"Well I'd like to end with a shred of dignity to hold onto, unless that's too much to ask of you?"

Strauss whirled around, "I said back off Rossi" he snarled at her, his eyes narrowing into slits, the hand holding his gun gripped so tightly it looked as if his skin would split over his knuckles. Alarmed, Alex took a step back, while the other two took a step forwards, their hands going to their guns on instinct.

"Strauss calm down" Joey warned, "she didn't mean any harm, she was joking."

"Yeah, well it wasn't fucking funny was it?" Jack spat, ramming his shoulder into Alex's as he stormed past her towards the building, the force of the motion sending her staggering back into Erin chest who had reached out to catch her.

"HEY!" they heard an angry voice shout and they all spun round to see Rossi storming towards their group or more specifically towards Jack. When he reached him he grabbed a fistful of Jacks shirt, practically lifting him off the ground as he brought his face closer to his own. His strength was impressive, and it gave him an aura of power.

"Just what do you think you are doing?". He spoke so low and calmly that it betrayed the quiet rage that was radiating off him in waves. It was present in his dark eyes and his nostrils were flaring, his anger clearly present towards the man who had harmed his sister. Erin watched David with silent fascination as he threatened Strauss, paying the latter no attention whatsoever as she stared intently at Rossi.

"Nothing Sir" Strauss hissed, shrugging David off and smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt.

"Apologise to her now" David growled, "she is your partner for fucks sake! You count on each other to survive out in the field, you never turn on each other! Treat her with some fucking respect!"

"Yes sir" Strauss bit out, "I apologise Alex, it won't happen again". Shooting one last look of contempt towards Rossi, he marched towards the FBI building.

Rossi was breathing heavily through his nose as he turned towards his sister who was standing next to Erin with Joey right behind them, the three of them staring after Strauss in varying forms of shock.

"Are you alright?" Rossi grumbled.

"I'm fine" said Alex, "I just didn't realise he was that much of an asshole. Erin take my advice and dodge that bullet while you can."

Rossi's eyes fixed on Erin and she returned his gaze steadily, arching an eyebrow as if daring him to say something. He opened his mouth as if to do so before a loud clap of thunder resounded overheard, causing the team to look up towards the sky and unanimously start to walk quickly in the direction Jack had gone moments ago.

Thunder rumbled overhead as the air crackled with a static heat that signalled the oncoming downpour. Agents were running back towards the safety of the building when the heavens opened and threw down everything it had, making it extremely difficult to see. The team were sprinting now, absolutely soaked and stumbling blindly, their vision totally obscured by the torrential rain. Deep puddles were starting to form causing their shoes to slip on the mud. Erin pitched forward quite violently in a fall before she felt two large hands grabbing her waist and yanking her back. The air left her lungs as her back collided with a large, strong chest. As she struggled for her breath she was mildly aware that she and her rescuer were still stood in the downpour as the others had run out of sight.

"Are you ok?" a concerned voice close to her right ear asked. She gasped and spun round to find herself, face to face, and in the arms of David Rossi, pressed against his chest. Her gaze held his, and as she slowly realised there was no malice there, she slowly let herself nod.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

Rossi nodded in return, but his eyes never left hers, and from the feel of his grip on her, he wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon. Her stormy blue eyes lured him in and he found himself unable to break away from her. Erin noticed the passion in his eyes, but mentally shook herself.

 _'He hates you Erin!'._ But somehow she didn't care. She instinctly licked her lips nervously and watched as he gaze flitted down to her lips and back up to her eyes.

She could feel him pulling her closer by the waist and saw his head lower to hers. _'Stop it! Pull away, its David Rossi for Christ's sake! You literally hate his guts!'._ But Erin ignored the internal battle inside her head, slowly diminishing it as her eyes closed in anticipation as his lips descended on hers.

He pressed his lips softly on hers before releasing them with a soft popping noise, then recapturing them in a powerful, all-consuming kiss that Erin couldn't do anything but return. She was pressed tightly to him as her hands snaked up from her hold on his upper arms to wrap her arms around his neck, puling his head closer to hers. His hand slipped down to cup her ass. She bit down gently on his lower lip, causing him to groan and squeeze the firm flesh in his hand. He used her gasp of surprise to enter her mouth with his tongue, tangling it with hers and soon they were locked in a fierce duel. One of her hands reached up to thread her fingers through his hair, the other staying wrapped aroung his shoulder and gave a low moan as his hands continued to roam her body.

They stayed that way for several minutes, kissing in the rain, until a clap of thunder made them spring apart in shock and remember where they were. They were both soaked to the bone and Erin's bee-stung lips made it quite obvious what had transpired between the two. Their chests heaved in tandem, David opened his mmouth to say something but Erin broke the silence first.

"Thank you for catching me Agent Rossi" she said unable to meet his eyes, as she took off running towards the building.

"Erin, wait!" David shouted as her ran after her, but she was soon lost in the downpour and he could not longer see her.

"God damnit!" David shouted as he stopped and rested his hands on his head, looking up at the sky in desperation and defeat.

 


End file.
